Why Köln (a.k.a Cologne)?

It's been 3 years since my last blog post. A lot has happened. Maybe I'll fill in the blanks, maybe I won't. But my main purpose for writing today is to explain why I am choosing to live in Köln.

For a bit of background, the scooter industry brought my husband and I out to Berlin, Germany and our intention was to stay in Europe for a number of years while he worked for the scooter company and I continued my job with HashiCorp. But 3 short months after moving and working for [scooter company who shall not be named] Jason parted ways with the company. Since Hashi already transitioned my position to the EMEA region (Europe Middle East Asia), I couldn't really turn around and say.. "just kidding HashiCorp, I'm moving back now!" So we decided we'll stick it out for a bit.

My work permit (German Blue Card) requires me to maintain residence in Germany for 18 months before having the ability to move around the EU. So I'm constrained to living in Germany, but I don't have to live in Berlin. I didn't choose Berlin, Jason's job brought us here. And when I thought hard about it, I wasn't certain that Berlin was the best place for me (or us. but mostly me, and right now, I'm the more important one)

I started examining the options. I needed a city, with amenities and the ability to speak English til I learn German. I needed a large central station and proximity to an airport for my job. So some tiny little village on the border of Germany and France wasn't really going to cut it (good for a holiday, not realistic for day-to-day life) That left me with 5 contenders: Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Köln, and Frankfurt.

Berlin: We live in Berlin and everything is perfectly comfortable. We have a great apartment, good location, super easy access to Tegel airport and we've even made some friends in the city. It's not that anything is wrong in Berlin, I just wondered if there was something better. Also, Berlin is known to be a party/drug city and that's just not really our scene.

Hamburg: Hamburg has the reputation of a nice city, and people really enjoy it. But for me, it's too far north and similar to Denmark. I didn't do well in the cold when I previously lived in Denmark, so for that reason I crossed it out.

Frankfurt: I've been in Frankfurt before and it's kind of a serious, no frills, all business city. There's a lot of financial companies and a large banking industry and that sort of sets the vibe of the city. I didn't consider it for long before taking it out of the running.

Munich: I debated quite a bit about Munich. I visited Munich for a few days in 2002 during Oktoberfest, but that time is a blur and I don't remember much about the actual city. From other people I've heard it's really beautiful, but also quite expensive with a snobby attitude. The proximity to hiking and mountain tops was appealing. But the airport is 45-50 minutes outside of the city center, and that commute would be a grind. So the expensive living, combined with long distance to the airport basically eliminated Munich.

This left only Köln to explore. I had never been and it was time to find out what the city felt like for me. Some people told me it was a wonderful, international cosmopolitan place. Others said it's a party city with a bunch of hippies. Regardless of what others said, I needed to make a trip to find out for myself.

My weekend in Köln

Friday night:

The moment I walked outside the train station I was greeted with the famous gothic cathedral. The sight was stunning. Immediately I felt, WOW, this is what you see when you get off the train, this is awesome!

I walked to the Courtyard Marriott (very conveniently located) and checked in. In a search to find something to eat, I found an Indian restaurant "Namaste" right behind the hotel. This is special to me, because my friends and I have a running "Namaste" joke that has been going on for 3 years. Already, I was feeling pretty good.

Saturday:

I had a sleep in and left the room around 10am. My plan was to hit up some main points of interest (Kölner Dom, Hohenzollernbrücke, Kranhäuser, Rheinpromenade Deutz, Altstadt / Fischermarkt) I walked to the Cathedral and encountered "Köln China Fest" It was pretty cool to see a burst of culture in this German town.

From there I went to the waterfront and saw a nice fountain. This reminded me of the Tom McCall waterfront in Portland. It was about then that my decision was settled. This place felt like home.

I walked over the bridge and down to Rheinpromenade Deutz. Then caught a train to Nippes to scope out a neighborhood where I had research an apartment online. I stopped at a pizzaria which had a pizza called "Inferno" Naturally I selected that. I sat inside the pizzaria and had a broken conversation with the owner of the joint. He peppered me with questions using a translator on his phone. He told me he came to Germany from Syria when he was 10 years old. He loved Germany, he thought it was the greatest place ever. After pizza I walked to the street of the apartment and took a look around. Quiet and kind of suburban, but a grocery store and train stop not too far away. It was OK. I went back to the hotel and took a short nap. I went out after dark, back to the China fest, had some noodles and went back to the hotel. After a drink at the bar, I called it a night.

Sunday:

Wandered around across from the hotel for breakfast and settled on a buffet place that did a full spread for 13 Euro called Cafe Extrablatt. I sat outside and had a mimosa, with a castle view.




After breakfast, I was walking to the atm to get cash and ran into a bike tour company. I only intended to inquire about their tours, but in a matter of minutes I had a bike and was chasing the English tour group that had just departed. I didn't sign any paperwork, I paid no money, I just hopped on a bike and pedaled my way to the group. Once I caught up to the bike tour we did a 3 hour ride around Cologne. I learned a lot about the different areas and the history of the city. After the tour, I headed back to the hotel for the rest of the evening. By the end of the trip I had two apartments picked out and a request out on Wunderflats to try and sign a lease.

Now, all is settled and I'm moving December 1st!

San Diego... also known as a whale's bleep

Was in San Diego for a week. Not a whole lot to report - I've been here many times. I did do some new things:

Wave House
A two level bar/club that on one end has a giant machine which creates a wave that people can attempt to surf.  And attempt they did.

This was a corporate party for my company's conference, which was interesting to see how it played out. As seen in the video, you essentially see a line-up of all guys (mostly white) which directly translates to what the industry in tech looks like. I was surprised they chose this setting for the party - to me mixing swimsuits and business is a bad idea. Aside from the fact that no women signed up to attempt the wave (I wouldn't be caught dead in a bikini in front of this crowd) the rest of the party was pretty well done. There were multiple bars, several buffets with different cuisines, a photo booth station, a live band and the place was right on the beach so there was a spectacular view.

Town and Country
Oh buddy. Can we say old school treasure island? This place was half renovated (that section was nice) and half run down (creepy). The company tried to cover up some of the less appealing elements like dingy carpet and stained walls by laying new carpet over and piping/draping the entire hall, but still you can't do it all.

Laser Tag
This was just a fun outing with a good set of my co-workers. Good bonding experience. We also hit up Kristy's MVP Sports Bar for some karaoke and ended up at the Paradise Lounge and Grill. The night went on until 3am...

AleSmith Brew Tour
One of my co-workers has a connection to this brew pub and managed to arrange a private tour/tasting of the AleSmith beers. We walked all through the factory and learned about the process, and also sampled some incredible beers. I discovered a delicious barrel aged nut brown that isn't available outside their taproom :( This was a pretty awesome experience.

Bleep Bleep Blurp Blurp is Back!

Back in 2011 when I started a new job, I wrote some posts about new technologies I was encountering that left me in a state of awe and wonderment. Well, it's happening again - thanks to this new position I've transitioned to. Hooray!

Travel Lesson #5 & 6

Changed my flight back from Philadelphia to route through San Francisco (with the final destination still being Portland). I planned to abandon the last leg of my flight, and just get off in SF. Well, as a late addition to the Philly flight, I was put in low priority for boarding and by the time I was allowed to proceed I was informed there was no space in overhead compartments for my carry-on. The airline said they'd check my bag, but the could only check it to the final destination?!? This meant that my bag would go to Portland without me. I scrambled to empty as much as possible from my carry-on and stuff clothes and toiletries into my backpack. It was a frenzied hack job. So lessons learned:

1) If you are going to make an itinerary change be prepared to loose access to your carry-on luggage and pack accordingly

2) Be more aggressive about getting on the plane early so that your luggage fits. I used to hang back at the end of the line, not really bothering about when I boarded. More and more frequently this means having to check your hand luggage, and with all the travel I'm doing, I don't want to have to go retrieve bags at baggage claim (what if it doesn't arrive? then I'm screwed for work)

On the plus side of this experience, I got to see the Tile at work because I had put one in my luggage!

Old Fashioned Hunt in Philly

My findings in Philadelphia:

1) The Franklin Bar
A cool, hidden, underground prohibition-era speakeasy joint. My colleague chose Four Roses - it was really smooth. Big Ice cube, and I requested for a cherry 😋


2) Charlie Was a Sinner
They specialize in mixologists and fancy drinks. I opted for an Angel's Envy Old Fashioned. The bartender did the fancy light the orange peel on fire schtick.



3) Village Whiskey
This place was better for it's burger than it's Old Fashioned. It was chip ice, and no cherry - that's a fail in my book :(

Travel Lesson #4

Always always double check your seat, under your seat and around you when de-board the plane or shift seats in an airport.

I lost my travel pack of cables and a router because I wasn't careful :(

Travel Lesson #3 - Don't take the minivan

I was in Minneapolis this week - great city and so active. I was laughing to myself when I reached the rental car garage because all the license plates on the cars were Minnesota. Every other time I've rented a car (LA, San Diego, NY, Boston, etc.) the license plates are from all over the country. And then the only car available to me was a big ol' minivan... with Florida plates. Go figure. I got some grief over scratches returning the car which reminds me to be more scrupulous when taking a car off the lot. And also to not to settle for any vehicles I'm not comfortable driving. (I'm pretty sure I didn't cause the scratches... I think)

I will have to come back to get a 'Cherry Spoon' handstand picture. The sculpture garden was under construction and is due to be completed in June 2017. 

Back in Burlington and Travel Lesson #2

Burlington - a place I know well having travelled there for Company Y a number of times. Well the new job took me back... to an office right next door! No need to do a handstand, because I already have one.

Travel lesson #2 - travel with an obnoxious old school alarm clock that will undoubtedly wake you up! Luckily the hotel I was staying in was under construction.. which jolted me awake - otherwise who knows how long I would have slept. I was still late though, since the wake up call was precisely at the time I was supposed to be at work.

Caltrain... huh?

Bay Area transportation is so weird. 

1) Why does CalTrain run so infrequently? 

2) It boggles my mind that traveling beyond your stop and then catching another train to backtrack is faster than waiting for a slower train to take you directly from point A to point B

Travel Lesson #1 - Never trust the Google search on flight times

Sigh. All day the Google search result said my flight was delayed (and by 1 hour, even though it shows 36mins in the screenshot)

In reality the flight was only delayed by 10 mins...

And so I missed my flight. Flightstats I had more faith in you :(  Now switching to TripIt!

Jon Stewart Tell's It Like It Is!

"Or how bout this, here's one: the wall street firms who were given access to the discounted borrowing window at the Federal Reserve or the 5 billion in direct federal payments to America's moocher farmers OR the incredible tax breaks the government gives the investor class who's money is taxed at a capital gains rate of 15 percent as opposed to ordinary "having a job" income which can be taxed up to 35%. Boy I wish we had a poster boy for that element of the moochocracy. Oh right."  

"In 2010 Governor Romeny had an adjusted gross income of 21.6 million dollars, yet paid only $3 million in federal income tax or 13.9%.  Without the preferential investor tax code, Romney would have paid 7.56 million dollars - a government subsidy of 4.56 million dollars.  Or to put that absolutely "fair" tax break given to a job creator in moocher class dependency terms: enough foodstamps to feed Mr. Romney through the year 4870.  By the way that's no bullsh#!t, that's the math. "

Labor Day Weekend 2012

I just spent 5 days down in the Bay Area, and looking back it's crazy how much I packed in while I was there.  Aside from spending 5 hours at the airport, I had a fantastic time visiting friends, family and the boy (I was eager to leave, so I got to the airport 3 hours in advance, only to find my flight 2 hrs delayed).  I ended up in the Bay Area close to midnight on Thursday.   

Friday

• Met up with Tiff, and went out to Burlingame to eat at the Copenhagen Bakery.  Also did some shopping on the main street.  

• Realized we were less than a mile from the grocery store that Jason was at - so stopped by and visited the  Tillamook Loaf Love Tour for a bit.  (Hooked Tiffany up with cheese)

• Dinner at Korean BBQ - AMAZING.  You know it's legit Korean food, when they don't even give you a fork.

• Dessert in San Mateo at Beard Papas.  Tried the cheescake sticks, mini cream puffs and a fondant au chocolat (not all in the same night, thankfully)

• Visited Nithin and Arti in San Mateo.  We were actually their very first visitors - they didn't even know how to buzz us in!  (Hooked Nithin up with cheese)

Saturday

• Took the BART out to Sunnyvale and visited Tanya, Rudre, Ronav, Arjun, Ani Aunty and Prakash Th.

•  Met up with Pradeep Uncle, and Purnima Aunty in Palo Alto.  Also ran into Anna and Marguerite. 

 

• Visited the Loaf Love Tour in Mountain View.  (Hooked more of the family up with cheese :)
• Headed into San Francisco, ate at the King of Thai restaurant and watched the Oregon ducks game.

 

• Stopped in at the pizza place around the corner from the Courtyard San Bruno for a midnight slice. 

Sunday

• Went for a 4.5 mile run which Jason was not very happy about

• Checked in to the Hilton Union Square.  Our room was on the 44th floor with an amazing view

• Walked out to Fisherman's Wharf and had a Boudin Clam Chowder bread bowl with a glass of white wine

• Dropped in to Buena Vista Cafe for an Irish Coffee

• Headed out to Cobbs Comedy Club for a comedy show

• Landed up at Bar None for the rest of the night and met up with a variety of people (Oregon ducks game fellows, Jason's coworkers, Shastri family)

Monday

•  Went to breakfast with Jenn and her family at the Mission Beach Cafe.  We got lucky with a table. after only waiting some 20mins.  When we left the restaurant, there was a mob outside and the wait was probably at 1.5 hours.

  

•  Oakland A's game, thanks to Yatin for hooking up 6 tickets!  Cooked out in the heat, while watching the Oakland A's suck it up loosing something like 9-2.

• Dinner at Prashant and Amrita's with Yatin and Seema.  We also sampled It's It Icecream Sandwiches - A San Francisco treat!

Tuesday

• Flew back to Portland

2011 Mountain Peak Summits

In July 2011 I climbed Mt. St. Helens and in August 2011 I summited Mt. Adams. Here's a recap of the experience.

Mt. St. Helens
Climbing Mount Saint Helens requires a permit, and I was lucky enough to find a group that had one available. Passes are hard to come by, especially for a weekend climb, and they have to be purchased well in advance. I deliberated a lot over equipment , up until this point I had only done day trail hikes. Ice axe? Gaiters? Crampons? I'd never heard of these things before. I didn't even have shoes, I ended up borrowing my sister's hiking boots. The shoes were the most important - they were waterproof, sturdy and got the job done. I did also rent an ice axe, which was useful for the descent. I wore many layers of clothing, all which came in handy at different points in the hike. I had shorts, a tank top, a short-sleeved and long-sleeved t-shirt, winter ski jacket (without the inner lining), long track pants, ski gloves (essential) and sunglasses (also essential to avoid burning your eyeballs).

The climb is 5 miles to the top, 10 miles round trip. There's a 4500 ft elevation gain. We started at the trailhead, Climber’s Bivouac.

The group in the parking lot, at the beginning of the hike

The first 2 miles is fairly easy, climbing through forests and open meadows on relatively flat dirt trails. After coming out of the woods, we hit the real start of the climb.


The trail ascends to Monitor Ridge, and gets more difficult from there. We started to climb through boulder fields, which took us up another 2500 feet.

The last section of trail was a climb through ash and small rocks to the crater rim. The views started to become amazing.

But there is nothing like the scene at the top. It was absolutely incredible, nothing I'd ever seen before. From that height you can see Mount Adams, Mount Hood, and Mount Ranier as well as the huge crater of Mount St. Helens. It was an absolutely perfect day, so the sight was breathtaking. At the top of the mountain, I realized I was experiencing a moment I would never forget. It was unbelievable, the pictures don't do it justice.


Eventually, we had to head down. That part was also awesome, since there was enough snow for us to "glissade" (essentially slide on your butt) down to the bottom. There are paths carved out by previous people, so it's super easy and really fun. The ice axe helped steer, and control the speed of the slide.

The ski gloves were a necessity. The descent in the snow would have been miserable without them. Rain pants are also extremely useful. I didn't have them so my ass got soaked within the first 30 seconds sliding down after which it became freezing cold and painful to slide on. I couldn't sit comfortably in the snow without the cold and wet seeping in. At the bottom my feet were swimming in a pool of water inside my hiking boots. This was because the snow had crept in, and the shoes are so effectively waterproof, the water was trapped inside. Gaiters apparently help keep the water out... but I didn't have them.

From Mt. Saint Helens Summit

After the hike we went out to pizza and beer at the Goose Hollow Inn, in Portland. A pretty awesome finish to an amazing day.

Mt Adams

April Flowers Again

I see this tree everyday on my way home from work, and for a year now I've seen this tree go through all the different seasons. It's pretty spectacular. I'm going to try and grab photos throughout it's different stages.

And here are some more photos of the flowers in the neighborhood:

The War Between Developers, Designers and Project Managers

Cutting Edge Scientists	Baby with a Paintbrush	Big Wig Doing Nothing	Office Space	Homer
Fat Naked Lady	Victoria Secret Supermodels	Demolition Man	Total Nerd	Forest Gump
Factory Workers	?	President, Politicians	TSA	Sarah Palin
Monkey Programmer	Kid with Fingerpaint	Task Master	Superheros/td>	Lazy Consumers
Ultimate Role Playing Nerd	Da Vinci	Bill Lumbergh	Robots	The Most Interesting Man in the World